


insomniacs

by trixicinkflair



Series: stand-alone multifandom fics [22]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Agender Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Agender Character, Children, Coffee, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders is Extra, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Genderfluid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Genderfluid Character, Insomnia, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Kid Fic, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Sleep | Remy Sanders, Protective Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Threats of Violence, if i've incorrectly interpreted something, like literally anything, not seriously but like, please please tell me, roman is just rlly protective, shitpost that developed plot, there is briefly a sword, this was supposed to be a crackfic what happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28996368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixicinkflair/pseuds/trixicinkflair
Summary: -"Hello?" The voice sounded small and terrified, high pitched from either fear or just how young the Side was, perhaps both. If he was ambling about aimlessly this early in the morning, with no idea who was in this section of the Mindscape, he was a) new and b) by default, also a child. Great. "Hello?" A little louder now, closer, and Remy sighed, shuffling into the hallway and heading reluctantly in the direction of the voice.-we finna ignore the canonical animosity between them, mmkay? // fic is properly capitalized
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Sleep | Remy Sanders
Series: stand-alone multifandom fics [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119674
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i will be putting tws in the chapter summaries, but if i miss anything or there's something else you think should be tagged for personal reasons/you know it's a trigger for ppl, pls tell me and i will be perfectly happy to add it for you under whichever chapter it's neded in. might do a master tw list here if there's anything that's a repeat trigger throughout the fic
> 
> ~ink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tws: none? virgil is accidentally partially misgendered (and will be throughout the first couple chapters) but they're a child in this and haven't quite figured out their identity yet. for reference beforehand, virgil is agender, she/they pronouns. technically genderfluid, (ya boi really do be projecting tho) but that won't really be touched on until at least chapter four.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? I need help, please! Anyone?"

Remy rolled over, grumbling, and was about to pull their pillow over their ears when the voice registered in their sleep-deprived mind. What was a child doing in the Mindscape? If Creativity had left the door to the Imagination open again, Remy was going to actually kill him. ...Well, no, they couldn't. Thomas needed him.

They stumbled to their bedroom door, regretting the alcohol they'd had at the party as their vision blurred momentarily. Ugh, their head was pounding in time with their heartbeat. Or rather, their entire body was pulsing in sync. Disgusting feeling. 0/10.

"Hello?" The voice sounded small and terrified, high pitched from either fear or just how young the Side was, perhaps both. If he was ambling about aimlessly this early in the morning, with no idea who was in this section of the Mindscape, he was a) new and b) by default, also a child. Great. "Hello?" A little louder now, closer, and Remy sighed, shuffling into the hallway and heading reluctantly in the direction of the voice.

"Hey, kid, can you hear me?" they asked softly, trying to keep their voice level.

There was a shriek, and then footsteps running. "I can hear you! Do you live here? Do you know where we are?"

Remy wrinkled their nose at the stream of questions, but froze as the kid came around the corner, almost slamming into them in his haste.

Big brown eyes, dull with exhaustion and wide with terror, brown and purple (what?) hair messy and falling into his eyes, chubby cheeks, a too-big black and grey checked hoodie swamping his tiny body; he looked exhausted and terrified and heartbreakingly young.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he snuffled, shuffling closer to Remy, his hands twisting in the fabric of his hoodie sleeves.

Remy signed, kneeling down and opening their arms. The kid met their eyes, hope shining behind his gaze. "It's okay," they murmured, and the kid flung himself into Remy's arms.

"Safe?" the kid asked, voice heart wrenchingly small.

"You're safe," Remy reassured him, pulling him closer and stroking his hair.

The kid exhaled shakily, curling into Remy's chest, closing his eyes and slumping into the embrace. "Thank you."

"You wanna get some sleep, kid?" Remy offered, halfway standing and lifting the kid with them. "We can figure everything out in the morning, okay?"

"Mmkay," the kid mumbled, pressing his face into Remy's shoulder.

Slowly, they made their way back to their room, and they placed the kid down on his bed. He curled into the sheets, already asleep.

Remy brushed the kid's hair back, fists involuntarily clenching at the bruises on the side of the kid's neck. "What happened to you?" they whispered.

The kid just shifted, nuzzling into the hand that Remy now had cupped against his cheek.

Remy hopped into bed next to the child, pulling him closer almost instinctively.

It didn't take long for them to fall asleep, the warm weight of the child curled against their chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me fucking up remy's pronouns help  
> edit: fixed
> 
> ~ink


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tws: unintentional misgendering (agender character who is still closeted is referred to by incorrect pronouns), roman briefly has a sword, accidental threats of violence directed at a child, crying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please tell me if i ever call anxiety virgil by accident, this is set (based on tss canonverse timeline) appx 9 years before accepting anxiety. so...maybe around June 2008 or 2009? idk, i mean, this isn't based on the canonical tss timelines exactly, since it's so far from when the series started, but it's more like i'm using it as a guideline. so, it being 2009-ish, thomas (and the sides minus anxiety) would be around 19 or 20 years old.
> 
> ~ink

The kid was still there in the morning, curled against Remy's side. Remy wasn't sure why that surprised them so much, it wasn't as if they'd bene outright betting on the kid leaving while they slept. They stretched, accidentally jostling the kid, who bolted upright, wide awake and clearly terrified. "Whoa, there, calm down. just me," Remy soothed, reaching over to lightly tap the kid's wrist. "Do you wanna go and get some food?" they asked.

The kid nodded, after only a moment of careful deliberation, and Remy got to their feet, opening their arms when the kid hesitated. "Want me to carry you down? It's kind of a long walk."

The child nodded shyly, clambering into Remy's arms and curling against their chest. He was very light, enough that Remy was rapidly growing concerned. Fortunately, as a neutral entity in the Mindscape, Remy was able to enter any of the sections at will, and it was easy getting through the barrier. The light tug in their gut, pushing them forward as soon as they're through, startled them, and they glanced down at the kid. "Light Side, huh? You don't look the part, but...I guess they never do, do they?"

"Hmm?" the kid hummed, blinking up at Remy.

They shook their head. "Nothing."

Together, they rounded the corner, almost colliding with Morality, who held a plate piled high with pancakes. "Oh, hey, Remy!" he cheered when he registered who he had almost bumped into. "Are you joining us for breakfast?" Remy occasionally joined them, though it was a rare enough occurrence that they'd finally convinced Morality to stop leaving a plate out for them.

"Yeah, got a little someone here who probably could use some proper food," Remy said, hefting the kid in his arms a little to draw Morality's attention.

The Side glanced down, face lighting up at the sight. "Aww, what's his name?"

Remy paused. "Uh, I...haven't asked him yet, actually. Hey, kid, wake up for a second, okay?"

The child blinked, rubbing his eyes and shifting in Remy's hold. He yelped when he saw Morality, jerking backwards so violently that Remy nearly dropped him. "Whoa, whoa, it's okay, this is Morality, he's a friend. he's going to get you some food, okay?"

Slowly, the kid nodded, turning back to Morality, who beamed at him. "Heya! I'm Morality. What's your name, kiddo?"

The child blinked uncomprehendingly for a moment, then slowly mumbled, "Anxiety."

Morality cocked his head. "Is that your traitname?"

Anxiety nodded, and Morality smiled at him. "Perfect, Anxiety it is, then. Want some pancakes?"

Anxiety nodded again, and Morality led the way into the living room (Remy had always wondered what Thomas's apartment looked like, if anything inside the Mindscape matched or if it was all just Imagination material that Roman had thought up.) where the others were waiting. Logan and Remy exchanged a cool nod of greeting, but Roman was just rounding the corner when they hit the room. He jumped back, startling, drawing his sword with the sort of fluid agility that only came with years of practice and perfection.

"What is your concern here, you fiends? State your business or perish! You-oh. Remy." Roman sounded almost disappointed at the lack of a real opponent, and Remy just snorted, maneuvering around the Creative side.

"Watch your mouth around the kid," he said, and Roman's jaw dropped as he glanced down at Virgil.

"Who is he? Where did he come from?"

"This might sound strange coming from me, but maybe wait until they'd both had some food, Roman," Logan suggested, barely bothering to glance up from his book. "Sit down, you can interrogate him later."

Morality shooed them all over to the table, setting Roman and Anxiety up with plates full of pancakes before handing Remy their own and pulling them aside. "Where'd you find him?"

Remy shrugged. "He was running around the other Mindscape when I heard him and guided him over to me. We were right outside my room, so...in between the other Mindscape and the Forgotten. the Imagination isn't far from there either, just in the opposite direction." he paused, glancing back at Anxiety to make sure he was settled in. "Morality, he's a Light. The connection between him and Thomas was established as soon as he was through the barrier, I felt the shift myself."

Morality grimaced. "That's what that was earlier, then. Well, he's always welcome up here, as are you. I doubt he'll want to stay without you, he seems pretty...attached."

Remy nodded. "If that's alright with you."

"Of course! You're part of the famILY. Should I get Janus and the Duke?"

Remy thought it over for a moment, grimacing. "Maybe just J for now, but we won't leave the Duke out completely. Let him up, he can meet Anxiety after Jan takes a look at the kid."

"Sounds good, I'll pop on over to the other Mindscape and let them know." Morality wrinkled his nose. "Don't know why there have to be such strict partitions between us, we're all part of Thomas."

Remy huffed a laugh. "You know why, Mor. It isn't anyone's fault," they soothed. "It's just how Thomas was raised to think."

Morality seemed to droop a little. "I know," he said sadly. "But I still miss them."

"You know how dangerous it is to spend too much time in another Mindscape. Better get over and back before the storm takes hold, it's almost impossible to find the bridge in the dark," Remy warned, and Morality jolted.

"Goodness, is it that late already? The storm wasn't supposed to hit us until 10."

"It's 9:35am," Logan called. "I suggest you leave now, you have approximately 25 minutes before the weather is likely to escalate. Will you require any assistance?"

Remy grimaced, unaware that Logan had been able to hear the two of them talking. How much had Anxiety overheard?

"No, I think I've got it. Thanks, Lo!" Patton tossed a cheery wave at all of them before rushing upstairs to grab his coat and enter the other Mindscape.

"if he isn't back in 30, I'll go looking for him," Remy promised.

Logan relaxed. "That would be much appreciated, Remy, thank you."

"Course, babes. Now...y'all got any coffee?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh crap it just occurred to me...thomas being around 19/20 age-wise in this means he would probably be in college rn based on the ages ppl are usually in college. help this is throwing everything off can we ignore character thomas for a bit while i get my crap together pls omg-
> 
> okay so like i'm still a senior in hs, i have 0 idea how to write college, so character thomas probably isn't going to have a pov chapter for a bit. at least until i can time skip far enough ahead towards where there'll be some canon overlap. any time before that, and we're out of luck, boys, that ain't my area of expertise.
> 
> ~ink


End file.
